The present invention relates to a radiation coagulator with a radiation source which has a large infrared content, with a light conductor attached to a holding tube and with a sleeve-like cap which is placed on the holding tube at the radiation exit end of the light conductor and which is brought into contact with the point of the tissue to be coagulated.
Such a radiation coagulator is known, for instance, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,233,493.
This known radiation coagulator is distinguished by the combination of a tungsten-halogen lamp as the radiation source, a rigid light conductor rod placed in a holding tube of fused quartz and a contact element which is designed as a sleeve-like cap and is placed at the radiation exit end of the light conducting rod on the holding tube, and the light exit surface of which is coated with a thin smooth layer of perfluoroethylenepropylene or polytetrafluoroethylene with perfluoroalcoxy side chains.
This known radiation coagulator has a number of disadvantages.
For one, the use of perfluoroethylenepropylene or polytetrafluoroethylene is not without danger since such compounds separate toxic fluorine compounds when overheated. It needs no detailed explanation that this is extremely problematical in the treatment of open wounds, etc.
In addition, the handling and processing of such compounds is not without problems. It is furthermore possible only with difficulty to process these compounds by injection molding techniques so that according to this patent already no integral contact element is provided, but a contact element, the light exit surface of which is coated with just these compounds and therefore has a "multi-part design. This design, however, has the disadvantage that it makes sterilizing the contact element more difficult.
It should be mentioned as a further substantial disadvantage of the known radiation coagulator that the design does not permit flexible matching to various treatment methods. Particularly the light conductor designed as a rigid light conductor rod can make the equipment difficult to handle and prevents treatment at inaccessible points.
DE-OS 31 13 869 describes an endoscope with a device for irradiating tissue points with laser light which has a flexible holding tube in the form of a hose, in which the optical fibers are arranged.
Finally, a laser coagulator is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,737 which comprises a sleeve-shaped cap which is arranged at the light exit end of the light conductor, converts the laser radiation into heat, is made of metal or ceramics and is snapped onto the holding tube.